Just as skiers and snowboarders are preparing to start a new season, a 2014/2015 Economic Value Analysis from The North Carolina Ski Areas Association provides insight into how last year’s slope shredding affected the state’s economy.
The total economic value — “the sum of winter value, employment value, and capital improvements, along with economic multipliers that take into account the ripple effects (indirect and induced effects) of the industry’s impact,” according to the report — generated during the season was $197.2 million from visitors and residents alike.
Information was sourced from ski operators and patrons, with surveys conducted at Appalachian Ski Mtn., Beech Mountain Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, Sugar Mountain Resort and Wolf Ridge Ski Resort. The state’s sixth ski area, Sapphire Valley, did not return data.
“This economic value figure quantifies only the most direct impacts, and does not include summer value, social, environmental, or cultural impacts, which can be significant but are more difficult to quantify and have thus been excluded from this analysis,” the report notes.
The report found that 653,654 riders generated nearly $40 million in revenue for participating ski operators. That supported 87 year-round salaries and 1,787 seasonal employees. Expenses per trip were $182.84 per person on average, including money spent outside the resorts.
“Tourism is an important industry in North Carolina throughout the year, but the summer months tend to dominate this industry. The winter months represent the low season in most tourism areas in the state, with the exception of those regions where skiing and snowboarding is offered. In other words, the ski resort industry provides economic value at a particularly important time of the year,” the report continues.
Read the full report here.
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